Rationalising Public Distribution System in India

Raya Das (), Ranjana Roy () and Ashok Gulati ()
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Raya Das: Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER)

Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) Policy Paper from Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER), New Delhi, India

Abstract: India runs perhaps the largest Public Distribution System (PDS) in the world, which provides free grains (rice and / or wheat) to almost 813.5 million people. But the Household Consumption Expenditure Survey (HCES) of 2022-23 shows that almost 28 per cent of the grains supplied by Food Corporation of India (FCI) and state governments never reaches the intended beneficiaries. This amount to a financial loss of about Rs. 69,108 crores (equivalent to roughly 20 million metric tons (MMT) of rice and wheat). Such a leaky PDS needs urgent reforms for better outcomes. The resources thus saved can be ploughed back to agriculture and rural areas to achieve not just food security but also nutritional security.

Keywords: food security; Public Distribution System; National Food Security Act; DBT; Nutrition; PDS; icrier (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 19 page
Date: 2024-11
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-agr
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